William “Bill” Shontz Bates, 90, passed away Monday, August 13, 2012 peacefully with his daughters by his side at The Village of Willow Crossings in Mansfield.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Thelma Bates and his wife of 48 years, Edith Smith Bates. He is survived by two daughters, Virginia “Becky” Bates Carson (Tom) of Medway and Kathryn “Kathy” Bates Denhard (Tony Naess) of Columbus, OH. He will be sadly missed by his 5 grandchildren, David Carson (Betsy) of St. Louis, MO, Greg Carson (Tracy) of Warwick, RI, Laura Carson Wheeler (Jeff) of Nottingham, NH, William Denhard (Lisa) of Columbus, OH and Paul Denhard of Pittsburgh, PA. Bill was also blessed to have known his great-grandchildren, Ava Carson, Emma Carson, Alexandra and Liam Wheeler, and Quinn Denhard.
Bill was born in Philipsburg, PA and attended Penn State University, graduating in Ceramic Engineering in 1942. There he met Edith and they were married in 1943 in Carlsbad, NM where he was stationed for training in the Army Air Corp as a bombardier/navigator with the 100th Bomb Group. He completed 35 missions.
After the war, Bill began his career in Ceramic Engineering with Spectrochemical Laboratories in Pittsburgh as Vice President in Sales until his retirement in 1992.
He received much recognition for his volunteer work with the American Ceramic Society. While Bill had many interests, his favorite activity was spending time with his family and celebrating life.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his memorial service on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin at 2:00 pm. Burial will be held at a later date in Murrysville, PA.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 237 Pleasant St. Franklin, MA 02038 or the 100th Bomb Group Foundation c/o Cindy Goodman, 13 Ettington Lane, Bella Vista, AR 72714.